To Return
by The Blind Bandit
Summary: They promised to meet, but she didn't expect it to take so long.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there, reader! I must say first, this does not belong to me, but to the fantastical writer Mystic Water Bender3. I'm simply finishing it. WHEN, you ask, will it be done? I've got no clue, because I'm having a hard time with this one. I'll post the second half along with my ending (which will hopefully be just as good as the beginning.) when I finish it. I refuse to keep this story hidden any longer, so here you have it!**

**Disclaimer: Neither one of us own ratavA. Yah. **

Flashback

"_Aang, please don't go." _

_The young airbender looked up from his steering and gazed sympathetically at his friend next to him._

"_You know I can't stay, Katara," he said softly, "The world needs me now."_

"_But what if I need you?" she shouted, tears threatening to fall as she stared longingly into his dark eyes. _

"_I don't want to go either, but I can't just ignore the end of the war. I can't turn my back on the world again," he replied quietly. Katara bit her lip, but the pain it brought did not weaken her urge to tell him what she most wanted to say. _

"_I understand, but... can't Sokka and I come?" she asked. He smiled weakly, his hands slowly slipping from Appa's reins to turn around and look at her. _

"_I know you want to," he began, "I want you to too, but things have changed. Just a few months ago, everything we did was a race against the clock, and I needed both of you then, but it's over now, and we have all the time in the world. I can't drag you guys around the world for the rest of my life, especially when you're not needed anymore."_

"_Then we'll come with you anyways!" she cried, but even as she said this she knew what his answer would be. _

"_I really wish you could...,"he answered softly. _

_Katara turned helplessly to her brother, who had been listening in stiff silence as Katara's pleas had been denied._

"_Sokka...?"she said quietly, "You wouldn't mind traveling with Aang, would you?" The warrior looked up, his expression unreadable. _

_Finally, he distinctively muttered, "Kind of."_

"_Sokka!"_

"_Katara, think about it!" he exclaimed, cowering slightly under her threatening look, "We'd never be able to go home again!"_

"_But I thought we were family!" she shouted. _

"_We are," Sokka said, smiling slyly at Aang, "Which is why under no circumstances is Aang allowed to not visit."_

"_It's not the same," but even as she said this, a small smile had crept up on her face as she watched his face light up from Sokka's comment. _

_The smile faded and she sighed, peering over the edge of the saddle and looking down, watching as dozens of fluffy white clouds drifted past them. She looked up as they began to descend, thoughts of regret and doom swimming inside her head as their destination arose in view._

"_Aang, you will come back, won't you?" she asked suddenly, turning back to the monk. _

"_Don't worry about it, Katara. I'll visit whenever I can!" he replied. _

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise." _

_She sat back, reassured, and waited as the flying bison took on a burst of speed and dove inside a cluster of clouds, its thick white blanket soon covering them. When they emerged only a few moments later, she found that her village was waiting for them directly below. The giant animal swooped down, letting a rush of cold air brush against their faces, then slowed as it approached a large iceberg. There was a large splash, and the bison crashed into the icy water, its large head bobbing above the surface as it pulled up to the iceberg._

_There was an uncomfortable silence that fell between the three teens, until at last, Aang muttered, "I guess this is good-bye then." Sokka nodded and stood up, crossing over the saddle and kneeling down next to Aang._

"_Good luck, Aang. We'll really miss you." He hesitated, looking the airbender up and down, and continued, "I guess I can't really call you a goofy kid anymore, huh?" she gave a weak smile and quickly hugged him, Sokka returning the embrace without comment. When they finally broke away, Sokka stood up, muttered a quiet, "See you around," and slid off the bison onto the iceberg below. _

_Katara looked away, feeling extremely uncomfortable as Aang's gaze traveled from her brother to her. She stared down at her hands, which seemed to not want to hold still for even a second, and began to twiddle her thumbs to keep them occupied. Finally with a rather forced sigh, she looked up at his solemn face and found that his eyes were glassy with tears. Her hand flew to her own eyes, realizing that tears had sprung up in hers as well._

_After a while, she looked up, having felt someone's hand on her own, and found that it was Aang's. Her gaze softened and slowly moved upwards until she was staring directly into his silvery eyes._

"_I'll come back, Katara," he said quietly, squeezing her hand. _

"_I know you will," she replied, her voice barely audible. He smiled, his goofy grin forcing her to return the gesture. She inched closer towards him, and slowly sat up and wrapped her arms around him, every doubt and worry being temporarily pushed to the very back of her mind. He returned the embrace whole-heartedly, neither one of them making any move to pull apart. _

"_Aang, I need to tell you something, but I don't know how to say it," she said quietly. _

"_Just try then," he replied in the same soft tone. She hesitated, then pulled herself out of his arms and cast an anxious glance at Sokka to make sure he wasn't looking. When she had made sure he had his back turned to them, she turned back to Aang and quickly kissed him on the cheek. He gaped at her, completely frozen in surprise as his cheeks flushed bright pink. _

"_Katara!" The waterbender turned around, praying to herself that Sokka wouldn't see her blush. Luckily he made no move to show that he had seen her, but began to frantically wave his arms. Katara turned back to Aang, gave him one last hug, and stood up. _

"_Bye Aang...," she said softly as she slid down the giant bison. His eyes followed her all the way down, but he couldn't seem to muster up the courage to answer her. _

"_Take care, guys," he finally managed to say in a slightly cracked voice. _

"_You too," Sokka replied. _

_Aang looked away, but it wasn't until he caught Katara's eye that he managed to summon up his courage and reply in a faint whisper, "I like you too."_

End Flashback


	2. Chapter 2

**Ah, finally. I'd go crazy if someone kept my story as long as I kept MWB3's. And for that, my friend, I am sincerely sorry. And thanks for being so incredibly patient.**

**So here you go, readers! The second part and the end (Hopefully you'll be at least a little satisfied with the end…).**

**To Return, pt II**

A misty sigh escaped the 17-year old's lips as she looked up from her daydream to gaze out at the horizon. It had seemed so long ago, three years in fact, that she had heard him say that. She remembered the look on his face when he said it; it was indescribable, but the instant Katara turned around to glance at him, she knew from then on that he would keep his promise.

She smiled to herself, her memories trailing back to her departing kiss. What she wouldn't give to see him one more time, to know what he had been so keen to keep she and her brother from...

She gazed thoughtfully at the brilliant blue sky, the thoughts and memories she had lived off of for so many years suddenly becoming painful to think about.

"_What if he never comes back?" _she found herself thinking. She quickly shrugged these thoughts off, reassuring herself that news of a new avatar would find its way to their village if the monk ever died. Finding peace with these words, she turned on her heel and made her way down the icy path towards her tribe's village.

It was then that she heard a faint, far-off voice calling her name. She turned around, scanning the horizon for the voice's owner, until her eyes fell on a small brown dot hovering over a feeble looking cloud. Assuming it was just a bird approaching, she turned back and continued walking.

"I'm getting really paranoid," she thought to herself as the voice sounded again. She ignored it this time, letting it ring in her ears as she approached the small village.

The teen swung herself over the petit gate bordering the village and hurried towards her tent. When she opened the tent flap, she was relieved to see her 18-year old brother sitting on a three-legged stool, absentmindedly polishing his boomerang.

"Sokka! Come with me to Gran-Gran's!" she said.

"Maybe later," he replied distractedly.

"You always say that! Come on!"

"Later!" he answered briskly. Katara sighed lightly and exited the tent, cramming her gloved hands into her pockets on the way out. A rush of cold wind welcomed her as she stepped outside, biting at her frozen skin and causing her to shiver beneath her thick furs. She pulled her hood over her head, cast one last glance at the horizon, and made her way to her grandmother's tent alone.

She suddenly stopped, involuntarily tightening her fist. An eerie, disturbing feeling had crept over her, and she began to have strange instincts that someone was following her. She turned around, but after a quick glance, she was sure she was really quite alone. She shrugged the feeling off, only to take one step and have the strange instinct return. She turned around once more, gasping loudly as someone's arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her, pulling her body in towards him.

"Guess who?" a distinctly familiar voice said in her ear.

"W-What the"-she stammered, turning around in the strangers embrace to see who it was. One look at his milky gray eyes, and she needn't have asked.

"_Aang!" _she shouted, flinging her arms around his neck and happily returning the embrace, "You came back!"

"You knew I would, didn't you?" he asked, struggling to pry her off of him.

"Of course, but—" she hesitated, a small playing on her lips as she looked him down.

He had grown a considerable amount in the last three years, now taller than she was and a deep sense of maturity hiding beneath the remnants of his childish features. His clothes, however, remained the same. His red poncho was torn in many places, a few careless stitches quilting the larger rips, and his sleeves and pants cleft in many area's, giving him a shabby and unkempt look. She looked back at him, her smile broadening when his puzzled expression faded from his face and was replaced with a lopsided grin.

"But what?" he asked, tilting his head to the side so that Katara was forced to laugh.

"But..._three years, Aang! _I didn't know what to think, you could have been hurt, you could have _died_!" she replied grimly.

"I'm sorry, I should have come sooner," he said softly, his hands sliding down her arms to rest in her palms.

"What kept you so long, anyways?" she questioned, mimicking his head tilt.

"Just cleaning up the mess from the war, one city at a time," he answered, mockingly throwing out his chest. She laughed, then took his hand and pulled him back.

"Come on! Let's go tell Sokka!" Without waiting for his reply, she pulled the small monk back towards their tent. He followed her without comment, and when they reached the tent, Katara wasted no time pulling him inside. She was deeply disappointed to see that the stool was empty, and there was no sign of the water tribe warrior anywhere.

"I'll just leave a note on the table," she said, quickly pulling out a sheet of parchment and scribbling a note on it, then turning back to the monk, continued, "Well there's no point waiting for him. Want to go for a walk?" He seemed startled by the suggestion, but never the less pleased.

"Sure," he agreed, and the two teens exited the tent, another gust of cold wind snapping at them when they had stepped outside.

An awkward silence fell between the two teens as they made their way back across the frozen landscape, and Katara became aware that if a conversation did not form, his visit would be wasted. Her gaze ascended to the sky, its brilliant blue hues beginning to brighten into shades of pink and gold.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Aang commented, catching his friend staring at the boundless air above them. "I've seen the sun set so many times all over the world," he paused, "but it was so different. Not having someone to share it with like before,"

Katara lowered her eyes, meeting his opaque grey orbs.

"Was it… well," The waterbender paused briefly, "_hard _to adjust to living by yourself?" she finished. Aang smiled softly.

"Sort of," he sighed. The sky had fallen into a palette of exotic colors, painting the two benders into a frozen wonder. They continued to loiter around the icy tundra, each with a conversation being thought but not said. Katara grinned softly at the fact that Aang had grown tremendously. Who knew three years could do so much to a boy so young!

Finally, her thoughts came out into sound. "I really missed you, Aang,"

"Me too, but I had to leave. I'm the Avatar, right?" Aang said, his lopsided grin slowly breaking through his mask of maturity. Katara nodded in understanding. "..And, you wouldn't mind me staying? It was your offer, so—"

"Of course! It _was_ my offer," she said with a jubilant tone. The two smiled.

And stared.

They simply stared at one another for a note of time. Katara felt her face grow warm as Aang leaned in toward her. A nervous—and happy—expression slyly made its way onto her tanned face. Merely a quick brushing of lips before she broke away, just about as frozen in surprise as Aang had been when they parted years before. Lacing his chilled hands in hers, she let out a whole-hearted laugh.

"Avatar Aang," she muttered, the painted sky reflecting against the savior of the world…The captor of her heart.

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**Reviews are good for you. Please send and you'll be healthy (Unless you look into the future. NOT healthy O.o)!**


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